MT, I think that in this time line, Ben's head is still firmly attached.
![[ghost_cheesy]](http://www.dsboards.com/SMF/Smileys/classic/ghost_cheesy.gif "Cheesy")
Desperate to defend Quentin against even the slightest hint of suspicion, Beth denies that the animal that attacked her wore clothes or walked like a man. Laura bursts in, demanding to see Jamison. Beth says he's upstairs with his father. She tries to keep Barnabas from leaving. Mindful of the approaching dawn, he tells her, I’ll leave you to to plot your revenge. As he walks out, she declares, I will have it! Before this day is over, I will have it! After he leaves, she glares balefully at his portrait.
Laura tries to order Beth--in secret consternation at Laura's refusal to leave--to let her upstairs to see Jamison. Beth actually blocks the way. Laura gazes thoughtfully at the portrait of the “original” Barnabas. Even the ring is the same, she murmurs, and those eyes. Yes, she muses, It’s the custom to wear jewelry to the grave, yes.… She turns around annoyed when she sees that Beth is still there. Am I so fascinating? she sneers at Beth. Perhaps I drove Barnabas away by my sheer presence here. Beth promises to come to the cottage with any news, but Laura ignores her and enters the drawing room, talking to herself about Barnabas’s strange habits. He seems like a night creature, she observes, then asks Beth, Have you ever seen him during the day? No, Beth concedes, but that doesn’t mean a thing--I might have been working upstairs. I think Barnabas has never seen the sunlight come through these windows, Laura hypothesizes. She dismisses Beth over her protests. The moment Beth leaves, Laura shuts the doors, makes a beeline for the fire and prays to Ra, asking for help in killing “my enemy.” Outside, Beth weeps in despair.
Laura continues her prayer, begging for Ra’s help in killing Barnabas. I swear to you, this is the last time I’ll ask for anything! she vows fervently. As if in answer to her prayers, Dirk walks into the room. Despite his protests, she orders him to go to the Old House and watch Barnabas.
That gentleman is at home, writing a note to Magda: If Quentin comes to the Old House, tell him to meet me at dusk. You must remain here today--Laura has threatened me. When he heads for the cellar, a wall of flames suddenly erupts all around him, blocking his path. As Dirk watches in astonishment, Barnabas simply dematerializes.
Dirk hurries back to Laura, who is still waiting at Collinwood, and tells her what he saw. He’s not human, Laura guesses--it’s as simple as that. I want you to go back to the Old House, she instructs Dirk. She tells him about the room behind the drawing room bookcase, saying, Edward told me about it years ago, when we were first married. (We last saw it when Ben Stokes hid the injured Victoria Winters there in 1796.) What if Barnabas catches me? Dirk frets. Laura assures him, Don’t worry--Barnabas’s secret has to do with daytime, and I’ve sent Magda to the cottage. What will I be looking for? Dirk asks. The secret room is full of papers, Laura replies. I want you to look for books and especially diaries written in the last century (presumably she’s calculating from the clothes in the portrait). Bring any diaries and all the letters back to me.
Quentin finally returns. Once more his clothes are stained with some hapless victim's blood, and we get another glimpse of chest hair (WHEE!). He overhears Laura and Dirk's conversation. Finally, they leave.
Quentin probably has never felt so helpless or out of control in his life. Once again, he is lucky that Beth finds him when he collapses on the stairs. Answering his desperate questions, she tells him that he attacked her--but she knows it wasn't him, tacitly forgiving him. (How many times does this make?) He suddenly realizes it's the curse and vows to kill Magda. With far more sense, Beth eventually argues him out of it. No! Beth insists. She’s your only hope. She can reverse the curse! We must make her stop it! It will happen again tonight, Quentin says fearfully. Where can I go? Where can I lock myself up? Where can I go where I’ll be safe? he cries, his voice scaling up with terror. Beth says urgently, We must make plans. We have until tonight. Quentin agrees: We must find out everything we can. As they embrace in anguish, Quentin despairingly rests his head on her shoulder. Just then, Laura pounds angrily on the doors. Why are these doors locked! she shouts. Beth calls out, I don’t know how it happened--I’ll find a key. Quentin slowly makes his way out the French doors.
As ordered, Dirk opens the secret room under the stairs at the Old House. It's dusty and full of cobwebs.
Funny exchange: With Quentin safely out of the drawing room, Beth unlocks the doors and apologizes to Laura. I thought I heard Quentin’s voice in here, Laura says suspiciously. Quentin? This early? Beth asks with a nervous smile. You should know better. Laura shoots back, I know him well enough to know that this is the time when he comes in--unless you’ve changed him. Excuse me--I must go check on Jamison, Beth says and makes a hasty escape.
Dirk rummages through a box of books--all paperbacks, even though paperbacks won't be invented until the 20th century. . He finds Ben Stokes’s diary, opens it and reads aloud: I will tell you the story of Barnabas Collins and how he died--or did he die?
At 6:15 p.m., Dirk and Laura are conferring in the drawing room. Laura reads the last page of Ben’s diary and closes the book. Stokes didn’t write down the secret, Dirk complains, but Laura is pleased. No, she says, but it does prove there _is_ one. So Barnabas taught Ben Stokes to read and write--he’s going to regret it, she muses. Dirk reminds her about the last sentence: Ben Stokes said that Barnabas’s secret would go to his grave with him, he points out. To his horror, Laura proposes, So we’ll dig up his grave! You aren’t serious, Dirk protests. All the diary proves is that Barnabas didn’t go to England. When will you learn to do as I say? she asks impatiently. Take the books so no one finds them, she orders.
At 8:00 p.m., Quentin and Beth meet again. Fortunately the moon is past the full tonight. Beth reminds him, from what we’ve read, you’ll be safe. He answers bitterly, Am I supposed to be my old self? Should we have dinner tonight? Do you think I can forget about last night? Or the night before? What if I’m different than the books say? Suppose I change even if there isn’t a full moon? He decides to consult Evan Hanley again and ask his advice, despite Beth’s objections. Just then Barnabas arrives to speak to Quentin about Laura. I found out a great deal about our mutual friend, he hints, but we must act quickly. Not tonight, Quentin says hastily and runs out without explaining (the door still refuses to close). Dismayed himself, Barnabas sees the dismay on Beth’s face--though they have very different reasons.
Dirk digs up Ben's grave while Laura supervises. Thunder and lightning make Dirk nervous, but Laura is undeterred. Suddenly a shadow falls across the scene. Even though she knows it's Barnabas, she shouts, Who are you?
